Hello, my name is Taren Keith, and welcome to my blog! I am currently a senior studying special education with emphases in learning disabilities and emotional impairments at Grand Valley State University. Overall I believe schools must prepare students for their future roles as community activists by encouraging them to develop their passions by being and doing a variety things through community building and community based activities in the classroom. This belief guides how I plan lessons, develop my classroom management plan, interact with students and fellow teachers, and educate myself as a future teacher.This past semester I was a teacher assistant at Quincy Elementary in a Young 5's- 3rd Grade resource room located in Zeeland, MI. There I gained some experience using technology in the classroom with Smartboards, several Ipad apps related to handwriting and story telling through puppets, and a few math-based websites such as XtraMath. Clearly, my knowledge about planning and using technology in the classroom is greatly limited. I have heard about paper-less high school classrooms and am wondering how this concept works and if it would be feasible to do in elementary school classrooms. I am hoping this EDT 370 course will answer this and other questions and concerns I have about technology in the classroom.
When I am not teaching I enjoy reading, volunteering, and playing with my pets. I am currently reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, but my favorite book is The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Typically I enjoy reading dystopian fiction, so I am branching out with these two selections. In addition to reading I spend my time with my little sister from the Big Brothers Big Sisters program about once a week. We matched in October and spend a lot of time doing crafts and watching movies together. However, she is not a fan of my hedgehog, which is strange, because he is adorable! He is the little critter crawling on my arm in the picture to the left. His name is Sherman, he is 1 and a 1/2 years old, and he is sassy. My students at Quincy Elementary loved hearing about him.
Thank you all for visiting my blog! I am looking forward to getting to know everyone this semester. Please feel free to comment or ask questions about any of my posts. I would love to hear from you!
Taren, I really enjoyed reading about your about me page! The way you set up this blog is very creative, especially the title of your blog. Your technology experience is interesting and I have actually never used apps for writing using the Ipad, so that will be interesting to learn about. I was also not aware that you were part of Big Brothers Big Sisters. I thought about going into that program but was not sure about how to go about that or the time it would take to be apart of that program.
ReplyDeleteHi Kailee! Thank you for the post and nice compliments. Big Brothers Big Sisters is a fantastic program, and I would highly recommend that everyone thinking about joining a child-focused field join, at least for one year. It is about a 4-6 hours a month commitment that lasts a minimum of 12 months. The link to apply is http://www.bbbsmi.org/site/c.7pLFLSPzEeLUH/b.6715977/k.E264/Volunteer_to_start_something.htm. Sorry, I don't know how to hyperlink by clicking a word in the comments. You just type in your zip code, fill out basic information, and in a few days you will receive an email with all of the different volunteer opportunities. Then you apply to be a big sister and have an interview in your home. It sounds like a lot but it is really a simple process for you. The GR representative is Tracy Straw, and she does all of the complex stuff. Let me know if you want more information :)
DeleteYour blog is so creative and perfectly reflects your personality! I love hearing your voice come out in your writing and loved hearing about your hedgehog and your volunteer work. How long have you been working with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program? I would love to hear more about it!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Amy! I have been part of Big Brother Big Sisters since October. My little sister is 13 years old, and it has been a great and interesting experience connecting with someone at that "transition" age. We may attempt ice skating sometime soon, which is slightly terrifying for my uncoordinated self :)
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